Bob Vila Radio: Be Good to Your Garage Door

Up and down. Up and down. Through all your day-to-day comings and goings, the garage door rarely complains. That said, for the door to continue operating without a hitch, it needs a simple course of maintenance on occasion. Here's what to do.

To get started, stand inside your garage and, in the course of raising and lowering the door a few times, note all the moving parts, including hinges, springs, and rollers. You may want to wear a pair of safety goggles, along with a shop apron, as a way of keeping dust and oil off your clothes and out of your eyes.

Now, with the door closed, use a rag to wipe away any dust, grime, and cobwebs you can get at (you’ll probably need a step ladder to reach the overhead tracks). Next, squirt a bit of silicone spray onto all the moving parts of the assembly. Repeat the process with the door opened to about the halfway point. That’ll ensure the lubricant coats all the components involved in guiding the door on its back-and-forth journey.

Don’t forget: Pay some attention to the rollers. Use a straw applicator to send lubricant into their centers—the part the axles go through. As you go about this final task, keep a rag handy to wipe away the excess drips.

You see, it doesn’t take much effort to keep your garage door in tip-top shape. The hardest part is remembering to get out there and do it!

Bob Vila Radio is a 60-second home improvement radio tip of the day carried on more than 186 stations in 75 markets around the country. Click here to subscribe, so you can automatically receive each new episode as it arrives—absolutely free!